AsiaElec: Vietnam coal imports to peak by mid-2030s

Vietnam’s Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT) has said that coal imports by Hanoi will continue to rise until at least the year 2030, before peaking sometime before 2035, at between 50 and 83mn tonnes per year (tpy).

The increase in the short term is being seen as an easy way to meet rising domestic demand for power in the nation of 99.7mn, as the move to more renewables investment takes shape, albeit relatively slowly.

At present, renewables generation in Vietnam comes primarily from hydroelectric facilities. Wind and solar power when combined, despite seeing significant investment in recent years, is still only measured in single figures in the overall national power mix.  

The rise in coal use over the next 12 years will initially see coal imports reaching as high as 83mn tpy, according to the MoIT, soon thereafter dropping to around 35mn tpy until around the mid-2040s.

In announcing the increase in coal imports, no mention was made of the June launch of Vietnam’s Energy Outlook Report (EOR).